Glessner House Museum

Glessner House Museum

Just north of the Clarke home, but very far removed architecturally, the Glessner House, designed by famous New York architect Henry Hobson "H.H." Richardson, served as an antidote to the gilt-and-pomp faux-Versailles pretensions of the Vanderbilts and their Newport neighbors. Irving noted that the 1887 home was built for smaller, more intimate gatherings that appealed to the intellectual appetites of John and Frances Glessner, whose fortune came from farm implements (he co-founded a firm that became International Harvester), but who nurtured the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, among other cultural endeavors. The fortress-like granite building focuses inward toward a central courtyard, rather than displaying a showy exterior. 1800 S. Prairie Ave.; tours Wed.-Sun. for $10 ($15 in combination with Clarke House tour, Wednesdays free), 312-326-1480 or glessnerhouse.org

Just north of the Clarke home, but very far removed architecturally, the Glessner House, designed by famous New York architect Henry Hobson "H.H." Richardson, served as an antidote to the gilt-and-pomp faux-Versailles pretensions of the Vanderbilts and their Newport neighbors. Irving noted that the 1887 home was built for smaller, more intimate gatherings that appealed to the intellectual appetites of John and Frances Glessner, whose fortune came from farm implements (he co-founded a firm that became International Harvester), but who nurtured the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, among other cultural endeavors. The fortress-like granite building focuses inward toward a central courtyard, rather than displaying a showy exterior. 1800 S. Prairie Ave.; tours Wed.-Sun. for $10 ($15 in combination with Clarke House tour, Wednesdays free), 312-326-1480 or glessnerhouse.org

Just north of the Clarke home, but very far removed architecturally, the Glessner House, designed by famous New York architect Henry Hobson "H.H." Richardson, served as an antidote to the gilt-and-pomp faux-Versailles pretensions of the Vanderbilts and their Newport neighbors. Irving noted that the 1887 home was built for smaller, more intimate gatherings that appealed to the intellectual appetites of John and Frances Glessner, whose fortune came from farm implements (he co-founded a firm that became International Harvester), but who nurtured the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, among other cultural endeavors. The fortress-like granite building focuses inward toward a central courtyard, rather than displaying a showy exterior. 1800 S. Prairie Ave.; tours Wed.-Sun. for $10 ($15 in combination with Clarke House tour, Wednesdays free), 312-326-1480 or glessnerhouse.org